Holding Out For A Hero
by RoadwayFox
Summary: Harper is back to Chicago right at the end of Season 1. Life just keeps getting more complicated. Sequel to There's a Hero to Save Me..


A\N – And we're back together, my darlings! I can't help how delighted that makes me! Everyone who's just getting acquainted with the story – it's a sequel so it would probably make more sense if you read _**There's a Hero to Save Me, I'm not Gonna Stand Here and Wait**_, but I suppose, if you just want to read this one, well, it shouldn't be too unclear either. As for everyone else: WELCOME BACK!

I'm so excited to embark on the sequel. Sooo completely excited!

_Important_: The first part left us at the door of the Pilot and this one picks up where the first Season left off, hence everything that happened in the series, happened during the time I was off wondering doing my own boring stuff and NOT writing this story :) bad very-very- bad me! Bear with me, you dare you! :)

No more delaying! Kelly and Harper awesomeness, Part II.

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_**Holding Out For A Hero**_

What did I expect? That he was waiting for me all this time I was in Boston? That he stopped his life for someone that may not have any intention to come back?

Probably, not.

I did expect him to remember me though. I did remember everything and those memories were still fresh. I realized how selfish and screwed up I sounded but the part of my life I was slowly moving into was over all about me picking up the pieces and fixing the bridges that were not completely burned.

And my primary goal was to rebuild that particular bridge with kind grey eyes and a good heart that belonged to a firefighter who once was my friend, my boyfriend, my fiancé and my soul mate.

What I did not expect was what I actually witnessed.

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_Chill. It got to me. As if it was always chilly in Chicago. Though I was craving for this city staying in Boston, it welcomed me back with the usual wind and hints of rain._

"_You can stay as long as you want." Gabriela put the last box into the stare room. "I was kinda longing for another living breathing soul in this apartment."_

_I smirked and turned from the window:_

"_By your calls I would think that you were practically living with Mills here."_

_She looked down and smiled sadly._

"_We were until couple days ago…"_

"_Oh, nice to know I can be used as a shameless replacement for such a hot shot." I smiled and Gaby threw a pillow in my direction._

"_Shut up!"_

_The mood lightened._

"_No, really, I'm very glad you're back and that you're better." She said coming closer to the window as well. "Plus, amongst all things, I could really use a friend right now."_

"_Well, you got one." I took a hold of her hand and squeezed it tightly so she would know that I meant every word. "I'm sure someone would be thrilled to be your bestie!"_

"_I'm just gonna kill you and make this world a better place!" Laughing, Gaby lashed at me trying to tickle me to the floor…which worked because I was smaller and my reflexes…just sucked to say the least. _

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When I moved out of my very cozy apartment almost a year ago to become a "proud" occupant of one of the rooms in Boston Rivers Medical Center for People with Eating Disorders, I knew I probably wouldn't be moving back in again. I mean, I realized the apartment was golden. Wonderful location, great view (which I'm sure can not be appreciated more by anyone else other than me) but for me it held unforgettable memories…mostly of me and Kelly.

Yeah, no one would love the place more.

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"_And a whole life fits into five boxes…" I concluded, pulling the clothes out and neatly placing it in the wardrobe._

"_Come on, it's not your life!" The paramedic came in with two cups of coffee and the smell hit my nostrils hard. "These are just things. They as hell don't define you."_

"_No, thanks. I don't do coffee anymore." I noticed Gaby staring at me, shock all over her features. "What?"_

"_Seriously? You? Don't do coffee? Your name could be Coffee!"_

"_Is that a big guy in Green Mile that was played by Michael Clark Duncan?" I raised an eyebrow._

_My friend scowled at me but still looked in question._

"_First rule of the clinic: you give up the substitute." I sighed as I let the words known to me as some kind of a prayer fly into the room. "Everyone has a substitute. Something we use to convince ourselves that this something is enough."_

"_Oh.."_

"_Cheer up, please!" I grimaced at her slightly awkward state and threw a pair of pink fluffy socks at my new roommate. "It's not that bad. Tea is actually pretty awesome! Especially when you don't have a chose in the matter." _

"_Well then, the whole stock is mine!" She grinned and triumphantly took a sip._

"_To put it nicely, I hope you burn your tongue." I smirked and went back to unpacking._

"_Ouch."_

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You don't get signs when you ask for them. This is a simple rule. We don't live in a movie or a book, so when we look up and ask for a sign, we just don't get one.

That's why I didn't ask for any kind of signal from up above when I made my way through the streets that I haven't stepped on for what seemed like years. The darkness that has fallen on the city ceased the noise but only slightly.

My destination was marked by a dimly lit street lantern.

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"_You heard, right?" Gabriela exited her room, pulling on a jacked while checking for her keys._

"_I know only the things you tell me." I answered from a comfortable spot on a couch with a bottle of water and a magazine..a girl gotta have a guilty pleasure. _

"_Ok…" She looked around as if mentally checking if she had everything she needed. "Listen, there are a couple things I should tell you but I need to do something first."_

_I kept quiet. _

"_Hellie's dead…"_

"_What?" My voice came out uncertain. That was some real ungodly news._

"_I'll tell you everything later but right now I have to check on Casey…he was a real mess the last time I saw him and I think he's handling it like REALLY not well…" Gaby stopped at the door._

_I just nodded to confirm that she should go without losing any more time. _

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Maybe I should have just waited for Gabriela to come back home ant tell me everything that has happened during my absence but my legs and mostly my heart took the lead and brought me to the house I knew all too well.

I waited. For about twenty minutes on the other side of the road. I waited and my head was a void. I didn't have any thoughts on any subjects, no questions about how everything was going to go, nothing. So I just waited patiently, standing on a street with wind blowing into my grown hair, sweeping it into my face unceremoniously. 

I didn't have thoughts about turning back and coming back some other day, I was intent on waiting.

One moment there was only a dark street with a few people passing by. The other it was like the atmosphere changed. For me completely.

There he was. The same height, the same laugh, the same man. Kelly Severide with his Sancho Panza (note that it wasn't me who made that joke first) Leslie Shay under his protective arm slightly tipsy making their way home.

I took a step towards the two and then…

…I stopped.

And everyone else stopped.

She was truly beautiful. She wasn't tall or too small, her skin had this exquisite tanned color but somehow I knew it was natural, her features held a touch of aggressiveness but nonetheless beautiful. And she was visibly pregnant.

So I stopped and watched.

And by the reaction of the man whom I've been waiting across the street from his apartment it wasn't hard to guess the story behind it.

So if you ask me what did I expect? I would in return ask you if you've ever been hit by a bus. Because that was exactly what I felt on that street and that was exactly what I did not expect.

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A\N – Soo, tell me tell me tell me! Hit me with all you've got! Reviews, set, go!


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